How to Destroy a Light
by OACrutchfeild
Summary: Adrien Agreste has just lost everything in a fire, including his mother. Forced to move into an old Victorian house, he tries to piece his life back together... A task that may end up being harder than it seems, what with the strange girl who keeps showing up unannounced in the house, and the rumors of the demon known only as Ladybug, said to kill any who dare stay to long...
1. Chapter 1

The house is light blue, and Victorian styled. It's got a lovely oak tree in the front yard, and an aire of light and happiness surrounding the grounds. It's the perfect home.

Adrien feels sick heading through the door.

"What do you think? Is it the one?" Gabriel asks, smiling at his son. Adrien nods dutifully. Gabriel already bought the place. It's not like there's a real choice anymore.

"What room is mine?" Adrien asks quietly, looking up at the chandelier that hangs from the ceiling, over the beautiful old stairway. It's as beautiful as anything else in the perfect, perfect house, but something about the way it's glinting in the light unsettles Adrien. Probably nothing. Maybe it just feels off because it's in such a similar, but still ever so slightly different shape than the one back in his own house.

Gabriel takes Adrien's shoulders, and guides him up the stairs into a wide room with a pretty view. He can see the mountains, and the sky, and a crystalline blue lake.

"You never had a view like this back home, did you?" Gabriel asks calmly. He does everything calmly these days.

"No, Father. Just buildings."

"It's nice to be out of the city. You'll see. You're going to like it here."

To most, this would be words of encouragement, but all Adrien hears is an order. "Yes, Father."

Gabriel nods sharply, and glances at the bed in the room. "Huh. Looks like the last owners left some furniture. We'll have to get rid of that soon."

Adrien shakes his head, going to sit on the old canopy bed. "Can I keep this, Father? It fits with the room better than any other we could find would. And the canopy's nice..."

Gabriel arches an eyebrow. "The canopy is ancient. Moth-eaten."

"Father, please?" Adrien looks up, eyes wide. "If we're really staying here, I want to at least get to choose this one thing. Please, let me keep the bed."

Gabriel closes his eyes for a moment. "We're replacing the canopy as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Father."

"Get settled in. I'm going to see about getting some decent furniture." Gabriel strides out of the room, ice clinging to him each step of the way.

As soon as Gabriel's gone, Adrien pulls his phone out, connecting to the wifi.

He pulls up a face-chat, and his friend Nino appears quickly.

"Hey man, how's your new digs?" he asks, poorly-hidden pity lacing his voice.

"It's pretty nice, I guess. Kinda cold. Everything's very nice-looking, and seriously old. In good condition though," Adrien smiles, cheerfully. He's gotten a lot of practice at that recently.

"Hey, dude, if you want to run away, you can always crash at my parents' place."

Adrien laughs, and this time it's almost real. Nino brings that out in people. "I promise to keep that in mind."

Nino nods, seriously. "I swear, my parents would be down with it, they like you better than they like me."

"That's because I actually bring home passing grades."

"That's low dude. Below the belt."

"Sorry... I meant it as a joke, we're still bros, right?"

"Always," Nino smiles. "Hey, I'll make sure to visit you soon. And, Adrien?"

"Yeah?"

"I know this is hard for you, man, and I won't pretend to understand what you're going through, but I'm here for you, man."

"Metaphysically, you mean."

"You're a dork for using that word in a normal conversation. But yeah, metaphysically. Hey, did you know that when I looked up your town, I found out it's supposed to be crazy haunted?"

Adrien rolls his eyes. "And I'm the dorky one. Nino, every small town is supposed to be haunted. It's the only way small towns can get tourists unless some big historic event happened there."

Nino shrugs. "I guess that's hey, just keep a lookout for Ladybug, okay?"

"Ladybug?"

Nino taps his lips. "Dude, I'm not saying any more about Ladybug. Look her up yourself if you want to know."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that on February 30th, okay?"

"You're going to wait three mon- oh. Oh, right, no such thing as February 30th."

Adrien snickers. "Talk to you later, okay? I want to explore a little, but I'm also definitely going to want to tell you what I find." And just talk, but he's got too much pride to say it outright. Anyway, Nino knows.

"Of course, man. It's a Wednesday night, it's not like I have plans."

Adrien nods. "See you then." He turns off the phone, and jumps up off the bed. Time to see what's up with this house.

He grabs the doorknob, and... Yanks his hand away, instantly. It's freezing cold... He looks down at his palm, blistered by the cold metal. It's November, sure, but there's no way a doorknob inside should be that cold, right?

He glances down, and notices that the blisters seem to be makinga pattern... An "M," if he's not mistaken. That's not normal...

But then they fade out, leaving no trace, and he shakes it off. He must have imagined it. He's been imagining a lot lately...

He carefully taps the knob, with the tip of one finger, only to find it's calmed down significantly. He opens the door, and heads out into the hallway, down the stairs, and out into the yard. Like the rest of the house, it's beautiful. White roses climb up the railings around it, and the lake he coukd see from his window begins in the yard. There's a little gazebo, and a path made of differtly-sized stones. It's immaculately lovely, the exact kind of perfection his father ordered. There's just one tiny detail that catches his attention.

Sitting on a bench, underneath the roses, and drawing in a book, is a girl with dark hair blowing softly in the wind. She looks up as he approaches, pretty blue eyes wide.

She says something, and his breath catches.

"No way..." He shakes his head. "You're not, I mean..."

She frowns, worry clear on her face, and repeats herself.

"I could ask the same of you!" he tells her. Slowly, realization and horror dawn on her face.

"Oh no..." she murmurs. "Not again..."

As she gets up, closing her sketchbook and disappearing into the roses, her question echoes through Adrien's head.

"What are you doing in my house?"


	2. Chapter 2

"The roses are over half a century old," Gabriel tells his son at dinner that night. "I noticed you were out in the garden. I thought you might like them, when I bought the house."

"They're very nice. Thanks, Dad," Adrien pushes the shrimp around in their sauce, taking a bite out of one. "The shrimp's great too."

Gabriel smiles. "I'm glad you like it. Isn't it nice to be able to eat dinner together again? We'll have much more free time out here."

Adrien offers a genuine smile at that. "I'd like that a lot... hey, dad?"

"Yes, Adrien?"

"Is the house haunted?"

The humor drains from Gabriel's face. "No, Adrien."

"Because, the thing is, I saw this girl in the garden. She said it was her house, and-"

"No, Adrien. Stop right there. This is you seeking attention. We both know that you do not see ghosts, and if you do, then I'm making a mistake and you need to see a psychiatrist. Do you need to see a psychiatrist?" Gabriel demands.

Adrien cringes back. "No, Dad. Sorry, I was just kidding around."

Gabriel relaxes, smiling. "Okay. Listen, Adrien, I know that you've been... effected, by all of this-"

"I'm fine, Dad," he smiles, getting up. "I... I'm going to go up to my room and unpack, okay?"

"Alright," the man seems relieved to be rid of this conversation.

Adrien races up the stairs, ready to message Nino, but when he flings the door open...

She's floating over that canopy bed...?

"Okay, what the hell?" he rolls his eyes. "Nice to meet you, Miss Ghost Person, I'm Adrien, and I guess we'll be living together, I honestly can't give a shit right now."

She blinks, and tilts her head. "Well, you're rude."

"Sorry," he looks down, a bit embarrassed, although he's pretty sure that it's okay to be rude to hallucinations... still. "I'm a little tired, and I'm not supposed to talk to ghosts. Also, I had no idea you'd be here, so..."

"You didn't?" She raises an eyebrow. "Every other guest I've had at least heard the stories."

"What stories?"

She gives him a deadpan look. "So you actually don't know who I am?"

"Not a clue."

"You're... serious right now?"

He grins at her, and tilts his head. "I'm dead serious."

She glares at him. "That was terrible."

"You grave me the perfect opening!" he laughs, sitting on the bed beside her as she smacks her forehead with the palm of her hand. "C'mon, live a little!"

"That is... not the reaction most people have to seeing me," she mutters. "I was expecting screaming..."

Adrien shakes his head. "I'm not most people. Now, who are you then?"

"I'm the Ladybug."

That thing Nino told him to look up? "Well, it's nice to meet you, my Lady," he jumps up and bows deeply, the picture of a... dramatic teenage guy. Which he is, so it's no great feat. "I mentioned my name before, right?"

"Yeah. You're Adrien, and you honestly can't give a shit right now," she smiles slightly at the bow. "Nice to meet me, is it?"

"Very much so! What guy wouldn't want to find a beautiful Lady in his bedroom?"

She wrinkles her nose. "Down, Tomcat."

He laughs, and attempts to take her hand... before passing right through it, to her apparent amusement. "Alas, my Lady! You mock me, while my only intent was to show my respect with a kiss to thine lovely hand!"

"I died in the eighteen-eighties, not the sixteen-eighties, you don't have to talk like that," she giggles. He shrugs, and leans back.

"So, why did Nino tell me to look you up? And why wouldn't he talk about you?"

"Because I've killed thirty-eight people."

The sun shines down through the window as birds chirp outside, while the bedroom stills after that proclamation.

"I'm sorry... what?!"

"Yes, when the sun goes down, I transform into a vengeful demon seeking revenge on any who trespass into my house. So, ah, you and your father might want to leave before that happens," she bites her lip, tilting her head.

"... That's... um... good to know," he stammers out, before seeing the huge grin on her face as she bursts out laughing. "Wait, why is that funny?"

"You should have seen your face!" she wipes a tear of mirth. "No, I don't turn into a demon, and I haven't killed thirty-eight people, I just wanted to get back at you for the puns," she explains, settling down on the bed, her red dress fluttering in an imagined wind.

"Ha ha, you're hilarious," he rolls his eyes. "At least my puns don't give people heart attacks."

"They're pretty bad, someone could die of secondhand embarrassment."

"So seriously, why was Nino scared of you?"

She bites her lip.

"My Lady?"

"Well..." she rubs the back of her neck. "It's not thirty-eight. But I have killed before. I'm this town's favorite horror story. Ladybugs bring luck, you know that? But dead ladybugs bring death to all around them. I don't know who came up with that, but it stuck."

"And your real name is...?"

"A secret."

"Why?"

She laughs again, and suddenly, black spots seem to appear on her skin... burns. The skin between the dark burns glows red, before it fades back from the burnt nightmare flesh to soft, translucent skin. "Because that girl died in a fire. Her name is lost forever to history."

"Who's dramatic now?"

She gives him a look. "You're really not afraid of me."

"I see no reason to be."

"I'm dead."

"So?" he shrugs. "I'm acquainted with death. And I'd like to get acquainted with you." He offers a hand, meeting her eyes with a hint of an honest smile.

Her eyes widen, and her breath catches. "You look like him..." she murmurs, before carefully meeting his hand with her own, and he feels the cold where they touch. Something about it feels right.

Then the sky darkens, and in an instant, she's gone again, a sudden rainstorm sending shadows over the girl made of light.


End file.
